There are lots of experiences we had in the “old” army that today’s young soldiers don’t get to enjoy. By the way…I learned a long time ago that the “old” army was nebulous at best….it is any army in which any old vet ever served. Here are some examples of some of those experiences. Since there is no longer a draft, there are no longer any serial numbers that start with US. Wait….that’s not relevant…there are no more serial numbers, period. There are no more wooden barracks….with red-painted, water-filled butt-cans nailed to the center posts…no more bay areas with five double stacked bunks on either side, leaving 20 men to fight for the lavatories and other, conveniences, in the latrine in the morning. By the way, there were, between the mirrors, a little slot for you to dispose of use razor blades. I always thought I would like to be there when the barracks were torn down, so I could see all the rusted razor blades from all the men who had been there before. My dad was at Ft. Rucker before he went overseas during WWII….I used to wonder if one of my used blades shared space with one of his. I don’t think today’s soldiers are ever awakened by the CQ or CQ Runner, by banging a broom handle on the garbage can and shouting humorous, if off-color limericks at us. (Actually, scratch the “humorous” comment….nothing humorous at being yelled at 0530. There is no KP today….young, low-ranking EM don’t know about tying a white towel to the foot of your bunk so the CQ can find you at 0300 to begin a day of labor in the kitchen….that will last until about 2100 that night. They also don’t know how good the shower and bunk feels at the end of that long day. The young officers, today, are also bereft of some unique experiences. One such experience is in being the pay officer. You report to the finance center and draw….then….from 20, to 30 thouand dollar in cash….and with so many other pay officers there at the same time…you only have time to count each bound packet...and pray they are accurate. I want to share an experience. Once I was pay officer in Vietnam, and I had to go from Phu Loi to Vung Tau to draw the money…about 20,000 in MPCs (military payment certificates…we didn’t use actual US currency in VN) and about five thousand dollars in Piasters. This was a mixed blessing, Vung Tau was a lot more pleasant than Phu Loi, and I would get to spend the night there. Also, Mike Lindell….a Warrant Officer and very close friend I had served with in Germany was there. I drew the pay, and went to the orderly room to have them hold it in the company safe for me. But, army regs said that the company safe wasn’t secure enough….so I put all the money in Mike’s laundry bag…and we went to town. We were having a lot of fun, drinking with the guys….and buying Saigon Tea for the girls…(yes…I know this was Vung Tau, but Saigon Tea became the ubiquitous drink for the girls who worked at such places as the: “Pretty Girl and Happy GI Bar.”) We ran out of money….after all, payday wasn’t until the next day….BUT….I was pay officer. I returned to the hooch, and got twenty dollars worth of piasters….and the fun continued. When we ran out of money again, I made the piaster run a second time. By now, Mike figured out where the money was coming from…and he offered to make the trip. Two more times, and we were a hundred dollars into my piaster payroll. But…we were having great fun….so much so that some of the bar girls were following us from bar to bar. An old CW4…who had served in WWII and Korea, got curious. “Where’s Dick getting all that money?” “Oh, no sweat, man…Dick is the pay officer. He’s got the whole payroll in my laundry bag, back at the hooch,” Mike said…innocently enough. ‘WHAT? MY GOD! WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE COURT MARTIALED! The next morning, in pre-flight, I “found” a reason to keep us grounded long enough for the others who had been in our bar-cruising adventure the night before…to draw their pay…and convert enough of it into Piasters….to make up the shortfall. I think the finally tally came to something just over two hundred dollars….which was a considerable amount then. Even though I replaced the money the next morning, I guess that technically, I was guilty of embezzlement. BUT that was 48 years ago. Surely the statute of limitations has expired, hasn’t it?
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 20:24:21 +0000
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